The present invention relates to a heavy duty press of the type that would be used around machine shops, auto repair shops and the like for removing bearings or other force fit items that are frictionally held on a shaft or other elongated element. Likewise, presses of the type of which the present invention relates are utilized to straighten elongated rods and the like and to perform other jobs where force is required against an article to perform an assembly, disassembly or the like.
Since the presses of the type to which the present invention relates exert a tremendous amount of force on a workpiece, it is quite necessary that the presses be structurally stable, in that, the press structure must be both rigid and strong such that when applying a work force, component structural features of the press will not distort, bend, break or the like. Further, in presses of the present general type where a movable carriage or other work element carrying structure is moved along a vertical path by a manually operated hydraulic jack or the like against a workpiece to perform the desired work function thereon, it is necessary that the structure carrying the work element move in a precise and aligned fashion, whereby once the workpiece is set for receiving the work force to be applied thereto, the carriage or other work element supporting structure will move as desired into contact with the workpiece to perform the desired task. As such, it is necessary that apparatus be provided to properly guide the carriage or work element supporting structure whereby same does not bind against other structural elements of the press, the carriage moves at the same rate of speed across its length, and there is no tilting or canting of the carriage that could cause misalignment between the work element and the workpiece.
Presses of the general type to which the present invention belongs have heretofore been manufactured in various and sundry fashions. Such presses have routinely utilized manually operated hydraulic jacks as a power source for moving a carriage carrying a work element against a workpiece where the workpiece is supported on a work support table. Techniques for guiding the carriage are provided in the prior art, attempting to maintain a proper carriage movement as pointed out above. Likewise prior art presses have generally been structurally fabricated in attempts to provide the requisite strength and rigidity necessary for a heavy duty press of this type. The present invention is believed to be an improvement over all known prior art presses due to the fact that a much more rigid and stronger press assembly is provided due to the unique arrangement of the component parts. Likewise the carriage assembly is believed to represent an improvement that ensures proper carriage alignment with the guiding arrangement possessing virtually the same strength requirements as the press itself.
Known prior art includes the following listed U.S. Pat. Nos.: 1,182,023, McGregor; 1,755,403, Manley; 2,267,662, Miller; 2,387,839, Frost; 2,502,072, Bender; 2,742,853, Knelson; 3,249,041, Johnson; 3,283,699, Hawkins; 3,302,556, Durbin; and 3,359,618, Murphy. This known prior art is not believed to individually or in combination teach or suggest the subject matter of the present invention.